Big Fun
Studio album by
Shalamar
ReleasedAugust 30, 1979
Recorded1979 at Studio Masters, Los Angeles, CA, Jack Clement Studios, Nashville, TN
GenrePop, disco, R&B
Length37:07
LabelSOLAR
ProducerLeon Sylvers III
Shalamar chronology
Disco Gardens
(1978)		 Big Fun
(1979)		 Three for Love
(1980)

Big Fun is the third album by the American musical group Shalamar, released in 1979 through SOLAR Records.[1] Big Fun was produced by Leon Sylvers III and is the first album to feature what is considered the 'classic' Shalamar line-up (Jeffrey Daniel, Howard Hewett and Jody Watley), with Hewett having replaced Gerald Brown. The album features the group's most successful hit on the Hot 100 pop chart, "The Second Time Around".

Big Fun has been certified Gold in the United States for sales of over 500,000. It peaked at #4 on the R&B chart and #23 on the Billboard chart (Shalamar's highest-placing album on this chart). In the UK it reached #45.

In 2002, Big Fun was re-released by Sanctuary Records in the United Kingdom in a two-for-one CD format with Shalamar's following album Three for Love.

The song "I Owe You One" was sampled in Raw Man's "Beautiful", and Le Knight Club's "Mosquito".

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
The Rolling Stone Album Guide[1]

The New York Times called the album "a very eclectic blend of pop hooks and light disco with funk trimmings."[2] AllMusic rated the album four out of five stars.[3] Writer Colin Larkin rated it three out of five.[4]

The album sold 625,000+ units as of July 1982. Its single "The Second Time Around" sold around 1.8 million units.[5]

Track listing

Side one
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."The Right Time for Us"Leon Sylvers III, Dick Griffey5:53
2."Take Me to the River"Renaldo Benson, Lawrence Payton4:57
3."Right in the Socket"Kevin Spencer, Leon Sylvers III, Dick Griffey6:51
Side two
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
4."The Second Time Around"Leon Sylvers III, William Shelby7:05
5."I Owe You One"Joey Gallo, Leon Sylvers III5:11
6."Let's Find the Time for Love"Kevin Spencer, Leon Sylvers III4:36
7."Girl"Kossi Gardner5:24

Personnel

Shalamar

Jody Watley, Jeffrey Daniel, Howard Hewett: lead and backing vocals

Musical Personnel

  • Kevin Spencer: keyboards, clavinet
  • William Shelby: keyboards, clavinet, Fender Rhodes
  • Kossi Gardner: keyboards, Fender Rhodes, Hammond organ
  • "Gip" Nobels, Gene Dozier, Joey Gallo, John Barnes, Ron Artists: keyboards
  • Ernest Biles, James Davis: bass
  • Leon Sylvers III: bass, percussion
  • Ernest Reed, Fred Rheimert, Steve Shockley: guitars
  • Freeman Brown, Gerald Thompson, Wardell Potts: drums
  • Greg "Popeye" Dawkins: congas
  • Fred Lewis: percussion
  • Christine Ermacoff, Edgar Lustgarten, Harry Shlutz, Marie Fera: cellos
  • Brian Leanord, David Johnson, Jerry Vinci, Ilkka Talvi, Irma Newman, Norman Carr, Norman Leonard, Reginald Hill, Ronald Fulsom, Sheldon Sanou: violins

Charts

Single

Year Single Chart Position
1979 I Owe You One Hot Soul Singles 60
1980 The Second Time Around Billboard Hot 100 8
1980 The Second Time Around Hot Soul Singles 1
1980 Right in the Socket Hot Soul Singles 22

References

  1. 1 2 The Rolling Stone Album Guide. Random House. 1992. pp. 628, 629.
  2. ↑ Holden, Stephen (23 Mar 1980). "Solar Could Be the Motown of the 80's". The New York Times. p. D25.
  3. ↑ Henderson, Alex. "Shalamar – Big Fun". AllMusic. Retrieved December 25, 2014.
  4. ↑ Larkin, Colin (2002). "Shalamar". The Virgin Encyclopedia of 70s Music. p. 395. ISBN 9781852279479. Retrieved December 14, 2017.
  5. ↑ Gayle, Stephen (July 1982). "Solar Empire Strikes Gold". Black Enterprise. p. 40. Retrieved December 14, 2017 – via Google Books.
  6. ↑ "Shalamar, TLP". Billboard. Retrieved June 27, 2021.
  7. ↑ "Shalamar, BLP". Billboard. Retrieved June 27, 2021.
  8. ↑ "Top Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 1980". Billboard. Retrieved June 27, 2021.
  9. ↑ "Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums – Year-End 1980". Billboard. Retrieved June 27, 2021.
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